Introducing the 2007 Rotohog MVP...

...Byung-Hyun Kim! What?!?!?! Well, maybe not. But there's actually a pretty realistic scenario where Kim ccould be the single most valuable player to have on your team for Rotohog this year.

I've talked before about how valuable closers with starter eligibility are. Because we're able to 'platoon' playwers who aren't scheduled to play at the same time of day, we can effectively re-use our money...which makes the cost of players much less of a constraint on the total amount of points we can accumulate. So for pitchers, we're face with two main constraints: roster spots and the 1300 innings pitched limmit. Because of the innings pitched limit, we want to get as many innings as possible pitched by closers, because they're going to have a much higher points per innings pitched ratio. The main constraint on our ability to get closer innings is that we only have four roster spots per day to devote to closers - the two relief pitcher slots and the two pitcher slots. The only exception where we can have more than four closers pitch in one day is if there are closers with starter eligibility. Up until now, it appeared that there could be two: Joel Pineiro and Seth McClung. A quick look at their K/BB ratios shows that these guys are both awful pitchers. In a normal league I wouldn't even consider having them on my team, but the unique rules of Rotohog could make them VERY valuable. Except that one or both of them may not actually win their team's job as closer.

Which brings us back to Kim. According to multiple sources yesterday, Florida is one of three teams interested in trading for him. And if they did, he 'would be in the mix for the closer role' (one site actually said he'd be the frontrunner). I know some people have doubts about whether Kim has the mental toughness for long term success as a closer, but I think he can do a good job. And unlike Pineiro and McClung, Kim is a pretty good pitcher. His ERA the past few years disguises that pretty well, but he had 129K and only 61BB in 155IP last year in Colorado, which is really exceptional. If he wins the Florida closer role, I think he'll do well, and his starter eligibility will make him the single most valuable player in Rotohog.